The week started quietly, with Ms. Blyden, our principal, hosting a Chat and Chew in Room 126 on Tuesday morning for anyone with a question or a cup of coffee to spare. On Wednesday the PTA Board posted the minutes, slides and recording from the October School and Families Meeting. The highlights: the city's screen time guidance this year is zero minutes for 3K through grade 2 and 30 minutes for grades 3 to 5, with no student-facing AI; an additional staff member starts helping in certain classrooms this week as a follow-up to the class size discussion, with next year's contingency plans worked out with the district over the course of the year; substitutes are always requested when a teacher is out, though a class may be split if none is available; and the PTA's annual appeal is under way, with a matching campaign for new monthly donors.
The school also published this year's PROSE half-day schedule and a rundown of the photo services ahead, including a correction to the holiday portrait order form, and it put out a call for parents who would like to be a second set of eyes at lunch and recess.
Friday was the Literacy Parade. Classes paraded by grade with the books they have been reading, 3K and Pre-K inside the schoolyard first, then kindergarten through grade 2, then grades 3 to 5, and the Literacy Committee handed out free books along the way. And on Sunday morning, as the New York City Marathon came up Lafayette Avenue, the PTA's bake sale table on the corner of Vanderbilt offered cupcakes, cookies, brownies, brigadeiros, coffee and cider to runners' families and neighbors.
Here is what is coming up over the next three weeks, starting with a short week and a drill.
Half days and no school
Tue 11/3: Remote learning day, Election Day
Wed 11/11: School closed, Veterans Day
Thu 11/19: Early dismissal, 11:40am (student-led conferences on Zoom in the afternoon and evening)
Important dates
Mon 11/2 to Fri 11/6: Evacuation drill (exact day not announced)
Mon 11/2: Lunch and Recess Parent Volunteer Meeting, 9:00am, cafeteria
Thu 11/5: Winter and holiday individual portraits (pre-paid orders due Mon 11/2, cash only, envelopes at the Main Office)
Fri 11/6: Fun First Friday: Silly Hat or Headband Day
Mon 11/9: Math-A-Thon begins (per the PTA meeting notes, details to come from the PTA)
Thu 11/12: PTA General Meeting, 6:00 to 7:00pm, on Zoom
To do this week
Go over the evacuation protocol with your child using the NYC Public Schools General Response Protocols summary guide; the drill happens sometime this week.
Ordering holiday portraits? Return the NBC Photo Co envelope with cash by Monday 11/2; envelopes are at the Main Office, and the group class picture line on the form should read designer calendar.
Become a monthly donor at ps20.org/donate; new monthly donors this fall unlock a matching gift for the school.
Looking Ahead
Remote learning day, Tuesday 11/3. Election Day is a remote learning day: no attendance in the building, and students log in to their class's Google Classroom from home, where attendance is taken. Teachers ran a quick login check this week, so if your child had trouble, sort it out on Monday. Families who need a device for the day should contact their child's teacher as soon as possible; the school lends devices for Tuesday only, with an agreement form to fill out at school and the device due back on Wednesday 11/4.
Evacuation drill this week. During the week of 11/2 the school runs an emergency drill on the evacuation protocol in the city's General Response Protocols. The main office asks families to go over the one-page summary guide (on the NYC Public Schools website under emergency readiness) with children ahead of time so the drill feels routine. The exact day is not announced in advance.
Lunch and recess volunteers. The school is looking for parents who can be a second set of eyes in the cafeteria and the yard. There is a short Lunch and Recess Parent Volunteer Meeting on Monday 11/2 at 9:00am in the cafeteria for anyone interested.
Portraits and the photo year. Winter and holiday individual portraits by NBC Photo Co are on Thursday 11/5, pre-paid orders only and due Monday 11/2, cash only, with order envelopes available at the Main Office. One correction from the PTA: the order form's line about a group class picture is a typo and should read designer calendar. Looking further out, Stomping Ground takes individual and class photos on February 4 and 5 (no advance orders), with retakes, make-ups and sibling photos on March 23, and spring and cap and gown portraits come later; questions go to pictureday@ps20.org.
Early November. Friday 11/6 is the next Fun First Friday: silly hat or headband day. The Konstella calendar also lists a Kindergarten Application Process meeting for Pre-K families that morning at 9:00am; watch for details from the school. The PTA's Math-A-Thon begins on Monday 11/9. School is closed on Wednesday 11/11 for Veterans Day. The November School and Families Meeting is Thursday 11/12 at 6:00pm on Zoom; last week we listed it as in person, and the board has since confirmed it stays online. Questions for Ms. Blyden can be sent ahead to board@ps20.org.
Thursday 11/19: early dismissal and student-led conferences. Students are dismissed at 11:40am and conferences take place on Zoom in the afternoon and evening; teachers will share sign-ups. Families as Learning Partners follows on Friday 11/20 at 8:30am, per the Konstella calendar.
PROSE half days for the year. The school has set the remaining PROSE half days, which give staff time for IB PYP professional development: Wednesday 12/9, Friday 1/15, Thursday 3/18, Monday 5/24 and a June date to be confirmed. On those days every grade is dismissed at 11:40am after a modified lunch, and after-school programs including Kaleidoscope and Mosaic run from 11:40am to 2:40pm for families who need extended care. Details are at ps20.org/prose, and the Parent Coordinator can help with extended-care options.
Support the annual appeal. The PTA's annual appeal funds the programs that make PS 20 what it is, and this fall a matching campaign doubles the impact of new monthly donors. Choosing the monthly option at ps20.org/donate is all it takes.
Full details, flyers and sign-ups are on Konstella; the calendar is always at ps20.org/calendar.
